Telecoms operators battle for businees

JAKARTA (JP): Telecommunications companies in Indonesia are facing various challenges to continue and maintain their business.

PT Satelindo sees the rapid change of information and telecommunications technology as the main threat currently faced by any telecommunications operator in the world.

Company president Iwa Sewaka said telecommunications firms must follow the changes, even after applying the most recent technology, unless the firms want to lag behind. "New technology usually offers cheaper costs, so this is very competitive."

He said the second threat was the global trend of strategic alliances, which would lead to mega alliances. "Probably, there will be only 10 or 20 telecommunications operators in the world in the future."

British Telecommunications merged last month with the U.S. group MCI Communications Corp. NYNEX Corp and Bell Atlantic Corp also merged last year. Earlier in 1996, SBC Communications Corp merged with Pacific Telesis Group.

According to Iwa, the third threat was the trend of multimedia and telecommunications convergence.

"Telecommunications firms have to harmonize their business following the trends of convergence and global alliance," he said.

Director of cellular operator PT Telkomsel, Garuda Sugardo, said that the biggest challenge for service-oriented companies was to maintain costumers. "Particularly in cellular phones, the operators have to guarantee the users that they have the technology to avoid fraud."

Cellphone operators had to establish good billing systems and customer databases as well as tight validation systems, he said.

President of PT Indosat, Tjahjono Soerjodibroto, said that telecommunications firms had to anticipate the rapid change of information and telecommunications technologies. "Technology will allow several things, including alternative services like voice over Internet, the establishment of new players and the evolution of the telecommunications industry."

According to Tjahjono, regulation also plays a very important role in the telecommunications business.

"We can learn that the trend in telecommunications service is cheaper costs. But any government in the world has to be wise in reforming regulation." (icn)